DNA, The Life of Fuyumi Todoroki
by 2WritersInATrenchCoat
Summary: As Fuyumi Todoroki grows up, she tries to pursue her own hopes and dreams while supporting her broken family and hurting friends. T level language and violence rated M for themes of emotional and physical abuse
1. 5 years old

There are balloons and cakes for those who have just found their quirks. An approving pat on the head from father, a hug from mother, other kids saying, "Cool, can I see?" and "What is it?" My first memory was when I got my quirk at five years old. My hands heated up til they turned red, and then cooled til they were blue. It tingled and buzzed, but didn't hurt like brother said it did, it felt new and exciting.

I ran over to my mother, tugging on the end of her light blue skirt, "Mommy, mommy, I got my quirk, look!"

She got on one knee to come eye level with me, shifting the baby to her other arm, "Oh, what a big girl you are now," she smiled but even as a five year old, I could see the pain she hid behind her smile.

"Are you ok mommy?"

She gave a small laugh, "Of course. Now, what is your quirk? Let me guess, you can jump so high you touch the stars."

"No," I laughed showing her my hands. She hugged me and the baby started to fuss in her arms, pulling at her hair.

"Congratulations sweetie!" The door slid open and my older brother Touya came storming into the room, his clothes half burned off him, a flame still flickering on his shoulder, hot, angry tears rushing down his face. My mother wordlessly handed me the baby, rushing up to Touya, sending a flurry of snow over his shoulder to quench the flames, "Oh, I asked you to be careful. Be more careful! Where does it hurt?"

My father walked up to the open door, arms crossed and scowlings, "Touya-"

"Mother says I have to be more careful! I need a break, our you'll have to take me to the emergency room again, and then I won't be able to train for weeks and that will set my progress back again."

"You interrupted me. I thought I've taught you better manners." The baby started to cry, and I rocked him, all excitement about my quirk long gone.

Touya looked down at the ground, "I'm sorry sir, it won't happen again." A hint of sarcasm escaped through the forced apology and my father took a step towards Touya, who hid behind my mother.

She stood up, "Please Enji, he needs rest or you'll hurt him. Please let him rest for just a little while."

He took a step closer and mother backed, eyes widening, "Fuyumi has her quirk, why don't you show your father your quirk sweetie?" My mother scooped the baby out of my arms pushing me towards my father.

He growled, "I'm not done with you two," before focusing on me. I held out my hands, and they turned blue than red, "Does it go out of your hands, or just stay uselessly in them."

"I don't know."

"Come with me." He lead me to the gym, where for the next half hour he tried to get me to hit punching bags long distance with my quirk, but as much as I tried the hot and cold stayed firmly on my hands. Finally, cheeks flushed and sweaty, arms sore and heart pounding, I sat down on the floor and started crying.

"I can't do it, I can't do it."

My father snapped, sending a volley of flames at the nearest punching bag til it was nothing but ash. Turning on me he yelled, "Get out of my sight!" I ran all the way to my room, flopping on my mat, and sobbing into my pillow until night. No cake, no balloons, and most importantly no approving pat on the head. Only a wet mat the next day.


	2. 9 years old

It was summer, dreadfully hot, and I couldn't sleep. I played with the doll Touya had got me, making her do flips, as I stared up at the ceiling. I cooled my hands and placed them on my head, running them across my body only to be hot again a second later. I could have opened the window, but the moonlight might have woken Natsuo, who slept fitfully on the mat across the room. He was a light sleeper, and he needed all the rest he could get with all the stress and bullies he had to endure at school. He wouldn't tell mother or father, but although I was almost a year older, we were in the same grade, and I knew they all teased him and pushed him around for being quirkless. Just a week ago one of the bigger kids had punched him so hard he fractured a rib and had to go to the doctor for pain medicine. He had told them that it was just an accident while playing ball.

Sweat dripped down my forehead, my mat was also soaked, even my doll felt wet. Taking painstaking care not to make a sound, I got up and tiptoed out of the room and into the hall. Doll gripped in one hand, I made my way to Touya's room, sliding the door open and peering in.

"Touya... TOuya. Are you awake?"

"No." the grumpy reply came from the middle of the floor, where he was flopped on his back, wearing only shorts. He propped himself up, looking across at me, "What's up sis?"

"It's too hot to sleep, and I wanted someone to talk to." He got up, stretching his arms behind his back than idly picking at a portion of the huge burn scar on his neck. The doctors had diagnosed him with an unstable quirk three years ago. Father had only stopped trying to train him to become a hero a year ago, and the scars his own quirk had given him across his whole body would never fully heal. He joked that it was a fun way to scare the other kids at his high school, letting them guess how he had gotten so many scars, and watching them squirm.

"Let's go outside so we don't wake up the nanny or the old man," he said.

We sat on the front porch of our big, traditional house, making each other laugh over stupid things, talking about bad food, good books, and our newest conspiracy that the nanny might secretly be the new pro hero, Clean Up. It was good to see my big brother laugh again after father stopped training him he had gone through a depressed spell for a while, staying in his room all day and not talking to anyone. At least he was getting better, unlike mother who now spent most of her days in her room alone or having hushed conversions with grandma on the phone. She purposely avoiding all of us except Shoto. Father had avoided Natsuo and I since the day he realized we didn't have the potential to be heroes, but mother used to care. It made me sad.

"I wonder what the stars are really made out of?," I mused, "They don't seem the same as the sun."

Touya measured the sky with his thumb, sticking out his tongue, and scrunching up face.

I giggled as he turned up his nose putting on a superior accent, "You see my dear child, there once was a family known for their glowing butt quirk, and they were having a terrible feud with a family known for their massive tennis racket hand quirk. One day-"

A hospital ambulance rolled up to our house, sirens off, but lights blaring.

We both stared as two workers hopped out, one walked up to Touya, "Hey, kid! Go tell your father we are here and he has nothing to worry about." The other worker held a straitjacket in his hands.

Touya jumped up facing the man, "What the hell do you mean? Why the hell're you even here!?" The front door opened, and I whipped my head around, to see my father standing in the doorway, holding my mother by both wrists as she struggled to get out of his grasp, half his size, feet kicking for the ground, and crying.

I started towards her as she pleaded, "I didn't, I didn't mean, oh no, why, WHY?! Don't hurt my boy, please, please, don't hurt him, why, I didn't mean, no, no! Enji you're a monster, you're a monster, let me talk to my mom, I want my mom, MOM!" Over and over again. I was frozen, not by my mother's words, but by the icy indifference in my father's eyes, how easily he forced her into the straitjacket, how cooly he explained to the workers how she had gone crazy and poured boiling water on Shoto's face, holding her up as easily as I held my doll.

"No," Touya whispered, "You bastard." We both stared in horrified silence as she was pushed into the back of the ambulance, still yelling and crying. My eyes stung, and I dropped my doll on the ground, clenching my fists to my head, tears dripping down my nose.

Natsuo came running out just as the ambulance door shut, "Mommy!" He started towards the door.

Touya grabbed his hand pulling him back, "You can't do anything. Don't try to get her, she's already gone."

Natsuo struggled in his brother's arms, face pained and streaked with tears, white hair falling into his eyes, "Mommy, don't leave us!" The ambulance pulled away from our driveway and drove off into the night. After the lights disappeared Touya let go of Natsuo, who fell onto his hands and knees sobbing into the dirt, an arm clutching his rib cage.

I sat down next to him, hesitating before patting him on the back, too shocked to properly react.

My father turned to face us, "Go inside. Clean that muck off your face child." Natsuo, wiped his dirty hand across his equally dirty face, still shaking and sniffling.

Touya picked my doll off the ground, back to my father, "You did this to her. It's all your damn fault. You hit someone around that much and they're bound to break sometime."

Father grabbed Touya by the wrist, yelling at us to come and slamming the door behind us before Natsuo was even all the way through the door, hitting him in the back with it. Then he moved his hand up to Touya's neck, slamming him against the wall and raising him so their eyes were level, Touya making clipped gasping sounds. Natsuo looked away, I watched.

"You need to learn your place," He gripped his hand tighter on my brother's neck, Touya's hands clawing at Father's arm desperately, his feet kicking at the air.

Father let Touya struggle for seconds of agonized wheezing, before finally dropping him and spitting out, "and just like with that wretch, I'll do whatever I have to you in order to protect my goal, my heir, and my status as a hero."

"You're not a hero," Touya choked out in a raspy whisper, eyes narrowed and blazing, "How do we live in such a sick, twisted world that the public praises an abusive asshole like you? You're a freaking monster! You deserve to be the one behind bars. It's all your fault you bastard-" He kicked Touya, who curled on the ground, hands up to protect his head, a flame igniting along his jawbone. He kicked him again.

I reached out, "Stop!" I covered my mouth, snotty-nosed from crying, and shaking all over with fear, unable to even meet his eyes. He didn't say a word, slapped me so hard I saw stars and fell on my butt, and kicked Touya again before leaving us. I let the pain crawl across my face. It felt like I had been burned.

Slowly, I crawled over to Touya, "I'm sorry, he kicked you again because of me."

"You didn't do anything wrong." He struggled to get up, bright teal eyes threatening to break into tears, and brimming with pain but holding it all back, trying to put the flame on his face out. I froze my hand trying to quench the flame but he pushed me away, "No, it's too hot, you'll hurt yourself."

"But I want to help."

"I don't need help!" The flame was already turning blue, halfway down his neck. He grabbed the doll of the ground, using it to blot out the flames, and then looking down at the ruined cloth, realizing what he'd done. "I'm sorry I'll get you a new doll."

"It's ok," I took it gently out of his hand, "Natsuo and I should go back to bed. We have school early tomorrow."

"Do you need something for your face?"

"No... Should I get the nanny to help you?"

"No, she's probably too busy with Shoto's burn. Plus he's probably with them, and I don't want you to go near him again."

Natsuo lay on the floor, both hands around his ribs, "gone, gone, gone."

Touya pushed himself over to Natsuo's side, "Get it together."

"She's gone! Gone, gone, gone, gone-"

Touya took Natsuo by the shoulders shaking him, "Calm the hell down!" Natsuo cried out slightly, pain clouding over his eyes, along with the wide fear of a cornered animal.

He whispered, "Don't hit me," and Touya let go of him, bringing his hands to his face and starting to sob, each cry wracking through his shoulders and back.

I tried to put a hand on Touya's back, but he jerked away from my touch, "Just go to bed, and leave me."

"But brother-"

"Go!" The flame on his face had reignited, and his tears sizzled into smoke as they rolled down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry." I half led, half carried Natsuo back to our room.


	3. 9 years old (part 2)

The house was so quiet after she was taken away. I wandered through the halls and rooms, a purposeless child without the distraction of school I'd had for the last three days. Weekends used to be fun. My feet carried me to my father's gym. Shoto was sitting on the floor next to a punching bag five times his size, knees to his chest. The left side of his face had just been uncovered. His eyes were narrowed as he glanced over at me. Someone so young should not be able to hold so much anger behind their expression, but I understood it. I slowly walked up to him, it was the first time I'd seen his scar, it was worse than Touya's scars, red and bubbly, and peeling. I felt sick and tried hard not to stare at his face as I sat down next to him.

"I'm so sorry Shoto."

Shoto balled up his fists in his lap, "It's not your fault," his voice dripped with hatred, "It's all his fault, he made her hurt me." I cold chill went over my body although it must have been over 36 degrees out.

A shadow crossed the entrance, "Get out!" My father had come up, his shoulders occupying the whole doorway, arms forever crossed. I ran towards the entrance but he was still standing in it. He reached one of his hands out and I flinched back, tense even when he only put a hand on my shoulder. "Look at me."

"Yes, father." The word tasted bitter on my lips, and it took all my strength to look up at him, not into his eyes, but at his flickering flame beard.

His hand tightened on my shoulder as he began, "Your place is not in the room. You are the only girl in this household now, and a girl's place is in the kitchen. I'm counting on you to clean up after your brothers and take care of them."

I almost screamed his hand was crushing into my shoulder, it hurt more each second, "Yes father." He let go, and I skirted past him and out of the room.

Shoto thought it was all his fault, but he wasn't the one who left me alone, who poured boiling water over her own son's face. I hopped the last stair to the courtyard, kicking my foot into the ground and sending up a cloud of dust. Why couldn't she have been stronger?

Even in the moment I saw the cruelty of even placing a sliver of blame on her, but she had ignored me for months to only care about Shoto, and then hadn't even protected him in the end. I was a horrible child, to think that way about her, she was the victim, she was just a victim. My father had always been distant, but she used to love me, read me stories at night, let me play with her hair, and praised my scribbles as treasured masterpieces. She was powerless.

I stomped in the dirt, eyes stinging for more than one reason. I was just as weak as her, more than anything I feared that I would break like her, lash out because I'd been hurt, and no longer love those that mattered most. I bent over a single flower, pushing its way past the heat and dust to survive, despite it all, peddles muted and damaged but still standing.

"Hey," I turned to see Touya, who had walked up behind me saying, "I'm going to the store, want to come along." His voice still had a slight unnatural rasp behind it, a product of almost being strangled, and he had a fresh burn under his eye.

"Does the nanny know?" I took off my glasses, cleaning them off on my dress.

"What she doesn't know can't hurt, right? We won't be gone for long."

The streets were crowded, and waves of heat shimmered up from the pavement. Touya got some weird looks, and an older man even stopped us.

He pushed his foggy glasses up, looking Touya up and down then turning to me, "Are you ok, child? If you don't feel safe with this boy, you can come with me. Tell me if something is wrong."

Touya sneered, placing one hand on his hip defensively, "Mind your own damn business old-timer. She's my sister and she feels plenty safe with me!"

The old man's face went a tomato red and he cut in, "I was talking to the girl! Stay away from him, miss."

"But he is my brother," I grabbed Touya's hand, hot and sweaty in mine, "Please leave us alone, sir."

The man huffed, "It's not proper for someone like him to be walking around in public."

Touya turned his back on the man, pulling me along with him. I suddenly felt heat on my arm, and yanked my hand away when I realized my brother's arm was flaming, "Touya! Your arm, stop it now please!"

He leaned down, looking me in the eyes, "Why should I have to control it, people will think I'm a freak anyways, cause all this world wants out of its heroes is pretty faces and bulking muscles. They want ugly scared villains, with three heads or snake eyes. They want helpless children in school uniforms to get caught up in the middle of it all. They don't give a shit if a hero beats his wife once he takes off his cape, they just want their gods and headlines." I froze, caught up in how much his eyes looked like father's, his gaze burned too.

"You're... scaring me."

Touya flinched, "I'm sorry," he patted out the flame on his arm, "You shouldn't need to think about things like that. Let's just go to the store."

We walked the rest of the way in silence. I looked up at a billboard of the top ten heroes, my father was up there, forever glaring down at his failures, forever below his ultimate humiliation. I smiled back at All Might, at the very top of the billboard.

Touya noticed my gaze, "Bet he's a horrible person in real life too."

"Why would you say that?" We entered a small convenience store, Touya made a beeline for the snack section, as I grabbed a basket. By the time I caught up to him he already had a handful of junk food, which he unceremoniously dumped into the basket.

He sighed, "It's just that that smile has to be fake, right? He has to have some sort of dark side."

"Why do you always have to see the worst in the world? Please can't you just believe that there's at least one true hero." Touya didn't answer, instead starting to check out, putting the snacks on the counter in large mounds, "Um, Touya. How are we going to pay for all this?"

He pulled out a thick wallet which definitely wasn't his, "With this."

"Oh my gosh, you didn't." I tried to grab the wallet, and he held it just out of my reach.

"Wait, wait," he laughed, "I didn't steal it, it's our old man's, he dropped it a week ago."

I stopped trying to grab the wallet, tilting my head to the side, "That's weird that he hasn't said anything about it. You should probably give it back."

"Why?" Touya handed some of the money in it to a very flustered looking young woman behind the counter, "So he can beat the crap out of me again, no thanks." He opened a package of crackers and handed it to me, taking one out and popping it in his mouth.

I took out a handful and stuffed them in my mouth, "I can take it back if you want."

"No, I'll give it back when he notices," He shoved the wallet in his back pocket, picked up the four bags of snacks and started for the door.

"But that's going to get you in even more trouble." I panted to catch up with him, scarfing another cracker.

"Don't worry about me sis, just enjoy the snacks." I knew he was getting more and more needlessly reckless each day, but he was brave. He still loved me, still would protect us when mother couldn't.

A couple more stares and four empty snack bags later Touya and I were back at the house. I collapsed in the courtyard, freezing my hands and pressing them to my face. Touya took the stairs two at a time to his room and tossed all the snacks through his door before sliding it shut.

He knocked on the door to my room, "Hey Natsuo, you in there?"

Natsuo timidly slide the door open, "What do you want?"

"Come on, sis and I are going to turn on the garden hose and play in the water."

I jumped in excitement, running over to the hose and turning it up to full blast. It whipped around the ground as a powerful burst of water streamed out of it. Natsuo slowly stepped out onto the balcony as Touya barreled down the stairs, straight into the water. He grabbed the end of the hose, impishly grinning as he pointed it straight at me. I wave of ice-cold and soaking wet hit me, almost making me lose balance.

I laughed, "I'm gonna get you for that!" Natsuo came down to join us, splashing down in a newly made puddle, and even smiling ever so slightly.

Touya suddenly dropped the hose, hand going to his back pocket, "Shit." He pulled out our father's wallet, sopping wet. Natsuo's eyes widened in horror. My hand went to my mouth, Touya was already calling for so much trouble, even without destroying the wallet.

Natsuo let himself fall back onto the bottom stair as he said, "That's father's isn't it?"

"Yeah," Touya hesitantly opened the wallet, pulling out a wad of disintegrating cash, "maybe he won't notice."

"Notice what?" Our nanny burst through the kitchen door, mop in hand, forehead beaded with sweat.

Touya ruefully held out the wallet to her, "It's the old man's, kinda forgot it was in my pocket, think you can fix it."

"Fix it!" she threw up her none mop wielding hand in exasperation, "My quirk fixes ripped cloth, not soaked wallets. What were you thinking, boy, stealing from your father like that?"

Touya wrung out the edge of his shirt pointedly staring at the ground.

I opened my mouth but Natsuo cut in, "You weren't thinking ahead because you never do," he stood up, walking through the puddles to stand in front of Touya, his voice quavered, "right?"

Touya let go of his shirt, "Damn right brat."

Nanny chucked the mop at Touya's back, hitting him hard, aim truer then she must have meant it sent him onto his knees, she gasped, but quickly regained herself, "Don't ever speak to your brother that way again!"

Touya stood, trying to wipe the mud off his shorts.

He glanced back at Nanny, "Jeez, ok. Sorry Natsuo, you're not a brat." He picked up the mop and handed it back over to her.

"It's ok." Natsuo fiddled with his hair, trying not to look at anyone.

I put a hand on Natsuo's shoulder, "Help me clean our room?"

"Sure."

Once we were in our room with the door closed Natsuo fell onto his knees, covering his face with his hands.

"Why can't we just be a normal family? I'm so tired of being scared of my own family, but he's so angry like father, they all are."

I was tired of not being able to help any of them, of being useless.

I said, "We all are going through a hard time. I don't think we'll ever be normal, but I'll always be here for you." The walls are thin in our house. In the moment of silence, I could hear our father's voice from the gym, and Shoto crying, an exhausted five year old carrying the weight of his father's fame.

"This is horrible," Natsuo grabbed the sides of his head, "He's going to break him."


End file.
